I am working as a postdoc in a university, and filed I-140 and I-485 (NIW category) in Sep 2005. My I-140 was approved in Oct 2006. Now I get an opportunity to move to a company. They won't support H1 visa. So I need to use my EAD to work. Someone said it is OK to change job as long as you work in the same field. Others said it is better to change within the academic field, and it is risky to move from academia to industry because immigration officer may assume that you will not be able to work for the interest of USA while you work for the interest of the company. Does anyone know the exact answer? Can anyone provide some examples in which people with similar situation are approved or rejected? Thanks a lot!
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NIW 140 approved, 485 pending, change job from university to industry
- Thread starter yihui6
- Start date
I am working as a postdoc in a university, and filed I-140 and I-485 (NIW category) in Sep 2005. My I-140 was approved in Oct 2006. Now I get an opportunity to move to a company. They won't support H1 visa. So I need to use my EAD to work. Someone said it is OK to change job as long as you work in the same field. Others said it is better to change within the academic field, and it is risky to move from academia to industry because immigration officer may assume that you will not be able to work for the interest of USA while you work for the interest of the company. Does anyone know the exact answer? Can anyone provide some examples in which people with similar situation are approved or rejected? Thanks a lot!
Okay when they (USCIS) says similar occupations they have refer to a federal register where they have job descriptions for almost every job in AMerica, that jobs salary, details work description. DOnt go by anybody's word for that, check that federal document, I think it is like a bog fat book. I am sorry I totally forgot the name and where I checkd the copy of that book for the job decsitpion. I too wanted to change after 180 days from scientific research to review but I cnat. ALso be careful even your job titles matter a lot. Even thought you were postdoc in university and doing research there and lets say you switch to industry then your title changes to scientist it may still create problem for oyu and may get NOID from USCIS then you will have to prove job similaruiilty based on that federal documents I mentioned above. I dont mean to scare you but check your current job description as opposed to your earlier, also compare salaries, there cnnot be a drastic difference between two otherwise yu have already called trouble for yourself. I would say stick to your current job for the time besing to avoid creatingproblem for you in near future, since you may get an RFE for 485 if they find out. USe your judgment. ALso if I could find out likn to the document I mentioning above I will try to post it here.
Thanks a lot for the useful information and comments. But I still have one question. What do you mean for "drastic difference in salaries"? I think the salary is supposed to increase even you stay in academia, some times the increase may exceed 20-30% if you change to other places. I understand that usually the salary in industry is significantly higher, and that is the main reason why many people move to industry. How much is considered big change? 30%? 50%?